A man of myriad projects including Queens of The Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Eleven, Spinnerette, PJ Harvey and Mark Lanegan, among others, producer and multi-instumentalist rocker Alain Johannes has established himself as not only a cornerstone player in desert godfather Josh Homme’s universe, but a remarkably formidable independent musical force through both performance and production.
A cofounder of Los Angeles heroes Eleven with his late wife Natasha Shneider and former Pearl Jam/RHCP drummer Jack Irons, Alain has concreted his artistic legacy as both a solo artist and a contributor to an avalanche of revered records featuring his rhythmic flurries, production technique and style of instrumental expression. Possessing a depth of haunting warmth and classical flare that’s become an audible signature of the man, his independent excellence was first evidenced in the stunningly gorgeous solo album Spark. Now Alain brings his gifts to his sophomore release, Fragments & Wholes, Vol. 1, for which he’s launched a PledgeMusic campaign.
Alain explains the upcoming release on his Pledge Music page: “On this new album, I expand on the Cigarbox guitar driven sound of Spark into a wider sonic palate including electric guitars, bass, drums, horns etc. The songs started as improvised sketches I posted on Instagram. For 12 days I chose one song each morning, finished writing it then recorded and mixed it.”
Just before heading to South America for a tour with Queens of The Stone Age, Alain met us at Swing House in L.A. for an Artist of The Month studio session, resulting in a fantastic run of new material and seasoned favorites. Our first CraveOnstage offering from the session is the debut of “Whispering Fields,” which finds Alain channeling an ethereal frequency in the vein of Paul McCartney or George Harrison’s most touching work.
Learn more about Alain’s Pledge Music campaign here, and keep up with Alain at his official site, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. Check back next week for another exclusive CraveOnstage performance from Mr. Johannes, as well as details on a very exciting new project…
